After pondering the steepness at the back edge of the yard, Becky Holmes began to picture a waterfall on the incline. And if there was a waterfall, it needed to lead somewhere.
What came to be is a serene scene--a waterfall, pond, plants, statuary and garden bench. The centerpiece is the pond with its mix of aquatic plants and koi. The watery retreat brings in heron and other wild birds.
It's a peaceful place, Holmes said. It's nice to go out there in the evenings. Even the family's two dachshunds like the spot. One loves trying to catch the koi. He swims in the water, but he hasn't gotten one yet, Holmes said.
Water gardening is "just exploding," said Robin Rollins, vice president of the Shasta Koi & Water Garden Club. "I think it's a real stress-reliever. The other thing that's nice about it is you can have a gorgeous back yard without all the weeds."
Sherrie Weigel, owner of Sherrie's Water Gardens in Anderson, Calif., said when she moved to the north state 25 years ago there was no interest whatsoever in water gardens. Weigel said the boom in water gardening in the last several years is linked to people taking more interest in their homes and yards.
There's been a ripple effect. The more water gardens people are exposed to, the more people want one of their own.
Weigel said people are learning that a water garden doesn't have to be a big investment of time and money. A water feature can be as simple as a wooden barrel with a few plants or as extravagant as a swimming-pool size pond built into the ground that's filled with exotic plants and koi.
The work involved is proportional to the size. Water gardens can start out small and then grow as knowledge grows.
Fred and June Vogel have several ponds at their home north of Lakehead in California. They began with a basic 600-gallon fiberglass pond. Soon they wanted more. They now have an 8,500-gallon pond and a 350,000-gallon pond.
Fred Vogel said the rural setting poses challenges. One liner pond was changed to a gunite pond after a bear ripped three liners (he was making repeat visits to snack on the roots of certain water plants).
Most birds aren't able to snatch koi in the ponds because the ponds are deep. A pond that's more than 4 feet deep offers fish a place to hide from birds, with the exception of certain osprey and eagles, Vogel said.
His water gardens demand plenty of work, including monitoring the water chemistry and protecting fish from disease. 'You have to learn what medications to feed them. You have to learn a lot about pond chemistry ... It's definitely a challenge. You don't just throw fish in a pond,' Vogel said.
'But the effort is worth it. We enjoy sitting down by the pond and watching the fish. It's very soothing. To me it's more exciting than watching television.'
(Laura Christman writes for the Redding Record Searchlight in Calif.)
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